INNOVATION

Illinois State Profile

Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL

Township High School District 214
Arlington Heights, IL

Illinois Board of Higher Education
Springfield, IL

Illinois Community College Board
Springfield, IL

Illinois State Board of Education
Chicago, IL

Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Deerfield, IL

Vandalia Community School District #203
Vandalia, IL

Educational and Workforce Landscape

Secondary K–12

Governed by:
Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)

Public school enrollment K–12:
1,762,499

Public school enrollment 9–12:
584,389

Graduation rate: 87.3%

CTE Participation rate: 45.59%

CTE graduation rate: 94.33%

Postsecondary

Governed by:

  • Illinois Community College Board (ICCB)
  • Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE)

Enrollment/Completion Data:
Statewide Postsecondary Enrollment:

  • 64% 12-month enrollment for the Graduating Class of 2020
  • 769,892 total undergraduate enrollment for SY 2020-21

Number by Type of Schools

  • 2-year Community College: 48
  • 4-year Public University: 12
  • 4-year Private University: 29

Workforce

Workforce Agency:
Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

Top Industries/Jobs:

  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Agribusiness & Food Processing
  • Transportation Distribution & Logistics
  • Life Sciences & Biotechnology
  • Business & Professional Services
  • Energy

Job Openings to Worker Ratio
Calculated using:
June ‘23 openings 377,000 /
Unemployed July ‘23 255,073

~1.5 openings per unemployed

Points of Interest

College and Career Pathway Endorsements are growing rapidly across high schools across Illinois: 1,072 students for the Class of 2023 earned CCPE (up from 596 for the class of ‘22 and 47 for the class of ‘21). Currently 215 high school-serving districts are in the CCPE platform, meaning that nearly half of high-school serving districts in the state are officially working to offer CCPE to their students.
The Illinois Higher Education Strategic Plan, A Thriving Illinois: Higher Education Paths to Equity, Sustainability, and Growth, calls on institutions to review and revise existing policies and practices that exacerbate equity gaps​ and develop and implement equity plans and practices to close those gaps. In 2022, the Illinois legislature passed and the Governor signed HB 5464 (P.A. 102-1046) requiring all public institutions of higher education to create and implement equity plans and practices to close gaps in enrollment, retention, completion, and student loan repayment rates. ICCB and IBHE are currently in the process of defining how those plans will need to be designed and implemented, and many institutions have already begun this work through the Illinois Equity in Attainment (ILEA) initiative.
DCEO is in charge of implementing the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which will both moves Illinois toward more clean energy and creates a suite of workforce training programs to build a more diverse clean energy workforce across the state.

College & Career Pathways Successes

Pathways Policy in Illinois

In 2016, the Illinois Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act was unanimously passed and established four student-centered, competency-based approaches to college and career readiness. Included in this legislation was formalizing the College and Career Pathway Endorsement (CCPE) framework which school districts across the state have been implementing to support student readiness for college and career. This work has been further advanced by Public Act 102-0917 of 2022, which creates a default requirement for all high school-serving districts to commence (or opt out of) offering at least one CCPE to their students. The CCPE is also a “shortcut” for students being determined ready by the State’s College and Career Readiness Indicator (CCRI), a multiple-measures approach to determining readiness that is part of the school quality framework in the State’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan.

Further, Illinois’ state education and workforce development agencies adopted a unified definition of “career pathways” in 2018 and created a first-of-its kind resource for policymakers and practitioners in the Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary. The Dictionary has been re-launched as a web-based resource in 2023 and includes definitions, implementation guidance, and resources about career pathways systems and components. This resource reinforces the priority of creating strategic and aligned career pathways advanced through the PWR Act as well as the state’s Perkins and WIOA plans.

Supporting Implementation

Illinois’ state education and workforce agencies have supported communities to develop and implement college and career pathways through a number of initiatives, including catalyzing grant funding, prioritizing pathways implementation in state planning processes, and providing resources like the Perkins Model Programs of Study Guides.

Further, the Illinois Education and Career Success Network (formerly the Illinois 60 by 2025 Network) is a growing network of communities in Illinois that are committed to advancing equitable postsecondary attainment. Since 2013, the Network has supported communities around the state to inform state policy and implement it at a local level, including through “spark” grants that have supported scaling pathways implementation in a range of regions.

Meet the Site Partners

Lead Organization: Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione

Name,
Title

Illinois Community College Board (ICCB)

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione

Name,
Title

Meet the Site Partners

Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems)

Illinois Community College Board (ICCB)

Reference Links and More Information

Read more about the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act https://pwract.org/

Read more about the Illinois Education and Career Success Network https://ilsuccessnetwork.org/

Join our email list and stay up to date on events, learning opportunities and the progress of the initiative.

SIGN UP